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Scripture Reading: Matt. 28:19; John 21:15; 1 Pet. 2:2; 1 Thes. 2:7, 11; Eph. 4:12
In this chapter we want to see how to have a definite beginning of the God-ordained way in a local church. We need a definite start, a definite beginning, of the God-ordained way. The churches may agree with the God-ordained way, but there has not been much practice of this way. This is because the traditional way of Christianity, the way of one man speaking and the rest listening, makes people lazy and idle. One speaker is hired to do the work of many. They are only required to give their offerings and listen to some speaking. But to take the God-ordained way makes everyone busy. All the believers must be exercised to visit people with the gospel. The success of this God-ordained way has been fully proven, but there is the need of our faithfulness in offering our body as a living sacrifice to the Lord.
We should take the opportunity to make the God-ordained way clear to the congregation of the church. There are many printed messages concerning the God-ordained way that we can read and study. Then we can take some time in the regular meetings of the church to speak to the saints, making the God-ordained way clear to them.
We should not push the congregation to take the God-ordained way. We should just present the knowledge of this way to the saints. Whether they would take this way immediately or wait is up to them. I believe that at least ten percent of the saints will accept our word and will start to practice the new way. We can go on with these ones.
The leading ones and some of the leading seeking ones should take the lead to practice, in a definite way, each step of the God-ordained way. In nearly every church there are, besides the elders, some leading seeking ones. The elders and these seeking ones should take the lead to practice the God-ordained way. We should not tell the saints to go out to knock on doors. That will not work. The leading ones in the church are the “head sheep.” They have to go out, and others will follow their example.
Besides attending the regular meetings of the church, the leading ones and the leading seeking ones should set aside their time once (better twice) every week for three hours to practice the new way. We should not start to practice the God-ordained way and then forsake the regular church meetings. We still should attend the regular church meetings while we are practicing all the steps of the new way.
First, we need to get sinners saved and baptized in a solid way (Matt. 28:19). It may be hard for us to gain new ones in the United States. But if we would be faithful to the Lord and budget our time once or twice every week for three hours to go out to reach people, we can gain two remaining fruit every year. Be assured that this will happen if we are faithful to go out year-round every week for three hours. We only need to do this for forty-five of the fifty-two weeks of the year.
After we have baptized two or three, we do not need to baptize more. We need to take care of the ones we have baptized by going to their homes. We need to feed these new believers in their homes once or twice every week for an appropriate period of time (John 21:15; 1 Pet. 2:2). The amount of time we spend with the new ones in home meetings depends upon our discernment of their situation. If we feel that they are still young, we need to feed them more. In the course of our labor, we will baptize a number who do not remain in the church. But we should always exercise to have two or three new believers under our care as our children, nourishing them as a mother and entreating them as a father (1 Thes. 2:7, 11). We are the parents, the mother and the father, of the new believers. We need to raise them up as our children.
Every group of four leading ones and leading seeking ones should bring the two or three who are under their care together to practice the group meetings by learning how to fellowship with one another, how to pray for one another, how to care for one another, how to shepherd one another, and how to teach one another by mutual questions and mutual answers so that they all may be perfected to do the work of the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:12). In the group meetings we should not do anything according to the old way. We need to get into the printed ministry that has been released on the group meetings so that we can carry them out in an organic way. The teaching in the group meetings should not be carried out by one person. In these meetings everyone is a student, and everyone is a teacher. The teaching is carried out by the mutual asking and answering of questions. If a new one says that she does not know why she has to be baptized, all the attendants can say something to answer her question. When everyone speaks, their speaking becomes a good message. Then everyone not only learns the truth but also learns how to speak, how to answer, and how to teach. Everyone can ask, and everyone can answer. After much study we have found that this is the best way to have the group meetings. In this way all can be perfected to do the work of the building up of the Body of Christ, that is, to prophesy. Only prophesying can do the work of the building up of the organic Body of Christ.
We should take the tutoring and coaching way to train all the ones under our care to prophesy first in the group meetings as an exercise and then in the church meetings as a practice. Eventually, nearly all the ones under our care will be able to prophesy. Many of the saints have a heart to prophesy, but they do not know how to do it. We need to teach them. Most of the saints in the churches now prefer to have the meetings of mutuality revealed in 1 Corinthians 14 with all speaking for building up. They do not want to go back to the old way. When only one person speaks, he is overburdened and the audience eventually gets tired of his speaking. When many saints speak in the church meetings week after week, this maintains the freshness. Whenever we function in a meeting, that meeting is the best to us. If we do not function, we may say that the meeting was poor. When we function and are expecting to function, the meeting becomes an enjoyment to us, and we desire to come to the meeting. When all speak in the church meetings, this stirs up every member of the Body.
We need to pray definitely for the purpose of carrying out the God-ordained way in all the churches with much patience and learning. The leading ones and some of the leading seeking ones should also fellowship with the rest of the saints so that they may gradually, one by one, participate in the learning and practice of the God-ordained way. Some of the saints will follow the leading ones to practice the new way. But the leading ones will have to contact the others to fellowship with them so that they can gradually enter into the new way.
The leading ones and the leading seeking ones should also, if possible, visit the other churches that have advanced in the God-ordained way, that such a visit may render some mutual help in the carrying out of the God-ordained way. There needs to be the traffic among the churches in order that we may learn of others. In this way all of us will receive the mutual help in carrying out God’s ordained way to organically build up the Body of Christ.
Practicing the God-ordained way requires our diligence. We must set up a certain time every week to practice the new way. This is not an easy thing. If we do not budget our time, it will be wasted. For the Lord’s sake, we should dedicate at least three hours a week to the Lord to go to visit people. We can join with others in a team to carry this out. In principle, we should not let anything frustrate us from keeping this time set apart for the Lord’s interests. If we dedicate this time to the Lord, two remaining fruit can be brought into the church life each year.
